Re: LYNX-DEV DOS suggestions (for development code ac-0.73)

[Nelson Henry Eric]

> > INSTALLATION       aclocal.m4         configure.in       lynx.man
[...]
> You could move lynx.man down into the docs directory and lynx.hlp into
> the lynx_help directory, if the goal is to cut things down as much as possib

The goal is not strictly to cut things down AMAP, but to "weed out" some
of the less essential.  For example it is not a coincidence that INSTALLATION
stands at the top left (although perhaps only valid in Unix).  I hoped to
leave in the top directory only what NEEDS to be there for as straight
forward a build as possible, and to help funnel new-comers to the
documentation that will get them started as quickly as possible.

I chose to leave lynx.man and lynx.hlp in the top directory since these
are files intended for default installation, and intended for processing in a
distinctly different way from the lynx_help tree.  For example "lynx.man"
generally becomes "man/man1/lynx.1", and would be invoked on Unix as "man
lynx" from the prompt.  The lynx_help tree is a set of html documents
intended as on-line help to be invoked from a Lynx session.  To the end
user, that means pressing "H" or "?", and whether in a sub-directory or not
is of no real consequence.  Whereas lynx.man is installed by default, because
of its size, installation of the lynx_help tree will have to remain optional.

> I would like to see two files added that I don't see here (perhaps they
> went lower - if so, I'd rather see them bump back up myself).  One is a
> complete list of changes in the releases (a History/Changes type file) and
> the other is a file highlighting the new features and fixes in the

Yes, I battled with this myself for a while, but I finally decided that the
CHANGES* files, even the latest one, is of little or no interest, and is
actually a distraction to the first-time compiler.  I believe regular users
and more knowledgeable users would have no trouble finding and accessing
those files from the /docs subdirectory where I proposed putting them.

I personally would like to see CHANGES, CHANGES.chartrans, CHANGES.configure
and CHANGES.new combined into one file that would be named CHANGES2-7 at
the time of the new release.  Klaus, would you like me to help with the
editing to cut out the duplication and put the changes into chronological
order?  I really hate to even mention this because this is totally the
record of develpers, but if it would be a help then just say so.

> If folk are concerned about increasing the number of the files, I myself
> wouldn't mind seeing an top level directory laid out something like:
> 
> install/

Again, it's not so much to make a "pretty picture" as to make a first-time
build as painless as possible.  To me, and I'm probably the `stupidest'
regular on this list, the top directory _means_ the "install" directory.

>               config.guess
>               config.hin
>               config.sub

Not knowing anything about autoconf, I don't know what these are about,
but I do not remember seeing them in all autoconfed distributions.  As
Tom mentions in a later post, however, having them in the top directory
can actually make the process more intuitive to someone attempting a build
for the first time.

>               LYMessages_en.h

This file I would like to see in /src, except that it is intended to be
replaceable, and for that reason probably should stay with userdefs.h,
which MUST be edited and reviewed by anyone intending on compiling Lynx,
and therefore should be one of the first files a person sees when they
enter the distribution breakout.

>               build.com
>               descrip.mms
>               fixed512.com

It would be nice to put the non-essential (for a build) VMS files into
a sub-directory of their own, but not knowing anything about VMS, I don't
know which files could and which ones shouldn't be filed away.

Thanks for the comments and KEEP THEM COMING.  Already Doug pointed out
a serious defect in my proposal.  (To answer Klaus' question from another
post, Doug has already taken care of the entire document tree, so that
AFAICS, not a single link will break.  Doug was just pointing out that
his _already-implemented_ changes would not be complete until "about_lynx
-dev.html" is removed since it is just an artifact.)  Because of my
inadequacies in technical aspects there is a danger that other problems
like that are lurking around, but with everyone's help, I do hope some
of the clutter can go.  I don't mind being the impetus for change, but
it's been proven that that's about all I can do.

__Henry
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